The group of people returned with a full load, really a full load. They couldn't finish the fish they caught, so they divided them into various yards. Even Mr. You got two fish.
As soon as they returned to the courtyard, Steward Li led three women to come forward and say, "Master, these are the cooks and helpers I invited. From now on, they will stay in the courtyard to serve you. You can call them if you need anything, sir."
.”
Bai Shan was still carrying the wooden bucket in his hand. Hearing this, he put the bucket down, put down his rolled-up sleeves, and turned his head to look at the three of them.
The cook is the oldest among the three. She looks to be in her thirties. She has a piece of cloth wrapped around her head. The clothes on her body are washed white and have several patches. Judging from her face, she should be from the Central Plains. Her hands are
A little rough, she was standing with her head slightly lowered. She felt eyes falling on her, and she couldn't help but clenched her hands nervously.
Bai Shan asked: "What kind of dishes can you cook?"
Manager Li stepped aside and had no intention of speaking for her. He obviously wanted her to answer on her own.
The cook couldn't help pinching her fingers nervously, but she bowed fluently and replied: "I can cook Sichuan cuisine. I have lived near Gyeonggi for several years, so I also know some Beijing cuisine."
Bai Shan raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Manager Li.
Man Bao, who was distributing the fish, heard this and couldn't help but said "Huh". He looked back at Steward Li and smiled and said, "Steward Li found it specially for us?"
Manager Li then smiled and said: "I don't have a good appetite for Mr. Wang and the Young Master, so I was wondering if the food here didn't taste good, so I went out for a walk today and happened to see Sister-in-law He. She spoke with an accent.
, I felt friendly as soon as I heard it, and when I asked, I found out that she was indeed from Shu, and she knew how to cook, so I took it upon myself to invite her here."
He said: "Masters have to stay here for a while, so they can't eat in inns and restaurants all the time. The dishes here are only the same. Although the dishes made by each restaurant are slightly different, they are still the same."
He said with a distressed look on his face: "This is too unfair to the young master and the ladies. I see that the young master and Miss Man have lost weight in the past two days."
Hearing that there was fish to eat, Nie Canjun, who wandered over to pick up the fish, couldn't help but look at Zhou Man and Bai Shan after hearing these words. He looked back and forth several times but couldn't see where they had lost weight.
And do they have a bad appetite?
They had dinner together last night. Maybe it was because they hadn't eaten rice for a long time. They both ate two big bowls of rice last night, which was as much as him!
No, they ate fruits and snacks less than half an hour after the meal!
Nie Canjun twitched the corner of his mouth, looked away, and asked Bai Erlang: "You want to give us fish?"
Bai Erlang came back to his senses, pointed to the fish in the barrel generously and said: "You can pick any two."
Man Bao suddenly remembered something and asked the cook, "Can you make tofu? I suddenly want to eat tofu and fish head."
Mr. Zhuang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly nodded and said: "This is not bad."
Sister-in-law He's face showed bitterness, she clenched her fingers and said, "I can make tofu and fish head, but I can't make tofu."
Man Bao happily said: "If you don't know how, just buy it. Does anyone who can cook necessarily know how to grow rice?"
Man Baole paused midway through, tilted his head and looked at Bai Shan in disbelief, "No way, there is no tofu here?"
Bai Shan carefully recalled the place he walked yesterday, "It doesn't seem like there is one, right?"
Sister-in-law He said: "No, people here don't even grow beans, so there is no tofu."
She said: "Beans are for horses."
Man Bao thought for a moment and said uncertainly: "I think I should be able to."
After saying that, she looked at Zhou Liru with some unconfidence. She knew the recipe. It was Man Bao who taught Mrs. Zhou how to make tofu for the first time, but it was her own sister-in-law. She said the first sentence and the other party could understand the next sentence.
It would be different if it were someone else.
Zhou Liru scratched his head and said firmly: "If there is brine, I will order tofu."
During the two years when my sister-in-law went to Yizhou, she and her two sisters helped make all the tofu at home. Not to mention that the second sister also went out and the eldest sister got married. Basically, she followed her eldest aunt and helped, but...
"But I can't guarantee how it will taste."
Because making tofu is also a craft, her mother didn't learn it very well back then, so she thought about letting her learn it well, and it would also be a craft when she gets married. So she tried to order two pots of tofu, and finally the tofu became a success
, but in the end I stayed at home to eat them all, and even gave a lot of them to my uncle’s family.
Although no one said it, Zhou Liru knew that the tofu she ordered was not very good.
But...whatever, if you can eat it in the end anyway, won't the two pots of tofu be eaten by the family in the end?
She can make brine.
Man Bao turned to Mr. Zhuang and said, "Sir, it's late today. The most we can do is make brine. The earliest we can eat tofu and fish head is tomorrow."
Mr. Zhuang didn't choose, "Okay, then tomorrow."
Sister-in-law He knew she could stay as soon as she heard this. She breathed a sigh of relief, immediately rolled up her sleeves, stepped forward to take the bucket, and asked humbly: "What would you like to eat, sir and miss?"
Mr. Zhuang thought for a while and then said: "Eat some vegetarian food and stir-fry some vegetarian vegetables."
Recently, he has been eating either meat or solid food, and his stomach and intestines can't stand it.
The cook responded.
Man Bao waved his hand and said: "I don't care, I like to eat it. Just watch and cook it. By the way, braised rice, I want to eat rice tonight."
Bai Erlang on the side nodded repeatedly, "Yes, braised rice."
Bai Shan discussed with Manager Li, "When you get to Shazhou, remember to buy some rice and noodles."
Manager Li agreed, and then introduced the other two people to them, "They are here to help in the kitchen and clean the yard. If the masters have anything to wash, they can also give it to them."
After all, there are Miss Man and Miss Liru, so it would be more convenient to have two maids.
The two of them are not young, in their twenties, with a tall nose and deep eyes. They should be locals. They can speak simple Chinese. The clothes they wear are a little better than those of Sister-in-law He, but they are also washed white, and their hands and feet are not bad.
Lili, Bai Shan decided to keep them and let them clean the yard first. They made a mess when dividing the fish just now.
Nie Canjun stood aside and watched the whole process. He was speechless and turned to ask Man Bao, "What are Master Zhou planning to do during this time?"
Twenty days is not a short time. You can’t just sleep all the time, right?
Man Bao then smiled and said: "We will go fishing tomorrow, but I also want to go to the Gobi."
Nie Canjun asked enthusiastically: "What are you looking at?"
"Look at the scenery," Man Bao said, "I heard that there are some plants growing in the Gobi that are not found in the Central Plains. I'll go and have a look."
The interest on Nie Canjun's face dropped, feeling that his question was in vain.
He thought for a while and then asked: "Master Zhou, won't you go visit the mayor of the town?"
Man Bao shook his head: "He was not granted a title by the imperial court, and I am not here on official business. I just want to be my guest. But if you want to join the army, you can go."